Fire threat on the rise

February 22, 2011

If Howard County Volunteer Fire Chief Tommy Sullivan and his band of firefighters seem a bit weary these days, there's good reason.

The volunteer fire department has been called to numerous grass fires — despite an ongoing county-wide burn ban.

“The level of wildfire danger right now is very, very high,” said Sullivan. “There's just so much dead grass and brush out there, and there's no moisture to help keep conditions from getting worse. We've been in need of rain for quite some time now, and while the snow a few weeks ago might have helped for a short period of time, it was immediately absorbed by the ground, so it's no help to us at all right now.”

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